Alan Jennings has announced his new program which is facade grants to rental properties in the 200 block of N. 10th Street. The program has also targeted a second unannounced block for rehab. Alan apparently still has his bank arm bending skills in tact, as TD Bank will be supplementing the grants. The big question is what happened to that tide rising NIZ? When the state tax funded NIZ was approved, it was promoted as promising an improved center city, beyond its 125 acre confines. If this benefit never materialized, what do taxpayers get for our money? Alan was on the original board of the NIZ. If he started this non-NIZ improvement program, he must have little faith in the NIZ's real ability to raise the tide.
The local media, especially the Morning Call, has a history of sheltering their pet politicians and projects. Ed Pawlowski was kept on a pedestal until the FBI raided city hall. Articles about the NIZ have been limited to soft promotion, rather than hard analysis.
With the continuing consolidation of the newspaper industry, the Morning Call editors worry about their pensions, not truth, justice and the American way.
shown above the editor's office at the Daily Planet, with Clark Kent in background
UPDATE: The Parkland Press has printed my letter concerning Wehr's Dam. The Morning Call, protecting the Wildlands Conservancy, has ignored my concerns about the township not respecting the voter's referendum in regard to the dam.
Facade grants? Nice, but what about systematic inspections of the insides of these buildings if they are rental units. Bethlehem is moving ahead on a systematic rental inspections program where they plan to inspect every rental unit every three years.Meanwhile our elected leaders choose to ignore our voter passed initiative that mandates inspections every five years.
ReplyDeletescott@7:24, FYI an Allentown property I manage was recently inspected under the rental inspection program. Time will tell how often Bethlehem actually inspects each unit.
ReplyDeleteMike, how unlucky for you that somehow they stumbled upon the property you manage. No one I talk to believes there is anything systematic about rental inspections in the city. Are there any numbers on units per year available? Is anyone even asking anymore?By the way, a property on the corner by my house was clearly blighted for years, it was finally inspected. I could write a book on that as I was painting next door and saw the whole thing. The best part was that in the rear of the building, very visible from the alley, anyone with eyes to see could see the main drain was leaking and had been for years, to the point where the bricks were completely un-mortared. The inspector only made the building owner fix the bricks.
ReplyDeleteIsn’t that a shame. You know that if there was not mortar between the bricks that had to be water leakage behind the brick. Some of the rentals in Allentown have not been inspected for 20 yrs. some inspectors just ignore lots of violations that are visible to the public’s eye. It’s a shame. I can only imagine their place of residence.
ReplyDelete